Hello! How is your week going so far? Mine can be illustrated by the desire for a good, loooong nap. Seth being on night shift + Ford waking up early most mornings + pregnancy = 😴💤😴. I have the strong daily desire to do nothing remotely productive and instead curl up with a blanket next to Ford while he plays. Nah mean? And that definitely happens for large chunks of many days, but I always feel much better if I get some productive stuff done instead of just sitting around. It’s the getting started that’s rough, though.

I think every single person I’ve ever talked to who is currently pregnant/has been pregnant in the past talks about how the second trimester is a breeze and it’s really the first and third that can be challenging. For some reason, I’m weird and that’s not how it is for me. The stomach weirdness and sensitivity that makes its comfy home in my body for the first trimester ends, which is nice. But I’m always more tired in my second trimester than my first. The second trimester is also hard because you’ve got sooooo long to go, and the brand new, giddy “I’m pregnant!” excitement from the first trimester fades and you just become really ready to meet your baby and have him/her in your life. By the third trimester, it feels so close that the giddy excitement is back, but the second trimester still leaves you with many months ahead.

Anywho, to sum it up, I’m TURRED. And I’m cursed with the lovely inability to nap during the day. So, you best believe I be suckin’ down every drop of the 200 milligrams of caffeine I’m allowed daily. I drink iced coffee, and the caffeine amount is recorded in milligrams on the side of the carton, so I literally measure it out exactly to get that full allowed 200 milligrams, and I savor every last sip, thank you very much.

The other thing that gets me excited and energized other than my beloved daily 200 milligrams of caffeine is when a recipe test for the blog turns out freaking amazing, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you STAT. This chicken. This chicken is that. 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

We’ve got two main things going on here: the chicken and the glaze.

Thechicken. We do a breading situation that consists of egg, flour, and panko that is seasoned with garlic powder and smoked paprika. First comes the flour, then comes the egg, then the chicken ends with a delicious crusting of seasoned panko before being lovingly placed on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Then – the key to crispy oven baked chicken tenders – you spray the chicken on all sides with olive oil spray (or canola or coconut – as long as it’s spray). The spray results in every single crumb of breading being coated in a light layer of oil, meaning that it almost lightly fries in the oven. The result? Crispy – actually crispy – oven baked chicken tenders, friends. It’s a dream.

The glaze. Ah, the glaze. Hello sweet, savory, spicy friend. Thank you for being in my life – you da real MVP. This glaze couldn’t be easier to throw together. Just add 1/4 cup of butter in sauce pan, stir in a tablespoon of honey and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Let that simmer together for a few minutes and then stir in just a touch of cornstarch slurry to give us that thick, sticky, glazy element to our sauce. YES PLEASE FOREVER.

From there, you pull your chicken out of the oven, and when you’re ready to serve, drizzle unhealthy amounts of your spicy honey butter glaze allllllllllll over that chicken, girl. DO WORK.

Devour immediately.

The crust on the chicken is crispy and smokey thanks to the paprika, the meat itself is impossibly juicy, and the glaze is savory and sweet and spicy and to die for drizzled over the chicken. It’s a party, that’s all I’m gunna say. The glaze is addicting, and the chicken in itself is so good that you’ll be skipping the fryer in the future and opting for this oven baked version instead. Not only is it much, much healthier, it’s also much, much cleaner.

Frying stuff on your stove top is a hot mess, leaving you with tiny specks of grease covering every possible surface within a one foot radius of your pan. I have recent experience with this after a sudden and violently tenacious homemade funnel cake craving that struck a few weeks ago, leaving Seth and I whipping up an impromptu batch and subsequently coating the kitchen in grease. SO WORTH IT OMG. It was life.

Anyway, unlike funnel cakes, these chicken tenders are just as yummy oven baked vs. fried, and the glaze is heaven in a drizzle. Make it happen, friends. Make it happen soon, if you care about your own well being.

Ingredients

For the chicken tenders:

Olive oil spray (canola oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil spray will work as well. It doesn’t really matter as long as it’s spray!)

For the glaze

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Set up a “breading station” with three shallow bowls or dishes, one of which contains your two eggs (beaten thoroughly), one with flour, and the last with your panko + paprika + garlic powder. Stir 1/2 teaspoon of salt into both the flour dish and the egg dish and stir 1 teaspoon of salt into the panko dish.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it next to your breading station. Coat each chicken tender in flour, shake off the excess, coat it in egg, let the excess drip off, and add it to the panko, turning over and over until the chicken tender is evenly and well coated in panko. When breaded, add the chicken tenders to the parchment lined baking sheet

When all the tenders are done, spray them thoroughly with your olive oil spray, turn the chicken tenders over, and spray the other side. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove, turn over, and bake for another 5 minutes

Meanwhile, make your glaze. Add your butter to small pot and let it melt. When melted, stir in your honey, pepper flakes, and a few pinches of salt. Let this simmer for a few minutes.

In a very small bowl, combine your cornstarch and a small splash of water to make a slurry. Add the slurry to your glaze and stir. Let cook for a minute or two until the glaze is thick. Set aside

When ready to serve, drizzle the glaze liberally over all the chicken tenders, and you’re done!

Notes

If you want the glaze to be mild in spice, just add a pinch of pepper flakes. If you don’t want any heat, omit them completely!

If you end up running out of panko, just add another 1/2 cup or so to your dish along with some salt. 1 cup ended up being the exact amount I needed for 1.3 pounds of chicken tenders, so depending on the size of your tenders, you could be a little short.

Nutrition

Serving Size:2 chicken tenders

Calories:259

Sugar:3 g

Sodium:220 mg

Fat:12 g

Carbohydrates:8 g

Fiber:0 g

Protein:29 g

Cholesterol:147 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!